Samardzija deal set

June 19, 2006|JEFF CARROLL Tribune Staff Writer

The Chicago Cubs and Notre Dame two-sport star Jeff Samardzija agreed Sunday to final terms of a five-year contract with a signing bonus that could be worth as much as $7.25 million. Samardzija would have to give up his professional football aspirations and concentrate solely on reaching the major leagues as a right-handed pitcher for the bulk of the signing bonus to kick in. The amount, first reported Sunday by ESPN, would break the signing bonus record of $6.1 million awarded last year to current South Bend Silver Hawk Justin Upton. The deal still awaits the final approval of the Major League Baseball commissioner's office, which already rejected the first contract submitted for Samardzija this week. But this time around, the Chicago Cubs organization felt confident enough that the two sides had altered the language enough to suit commissioner Bud Selig that it announced the deal during the Cubs' loss to the Detroit Tigers Sunday. "The deal that we sought for Jeff was a deal that would be a win-win for Jeff, the Chicago Cubs, the University of Notre Dame and the National Football League," said Samardzija's adviser, sports agent Mark Rodgers. "We had to balance the interests of four different parties that all had a stake in Jeff Samardzija. "We kept the window open for all of his future options." Rodgers declined to comment on contract specifics, at least until he received the final approval of Major League Baseball. Samardzija's father Sam Samardzija was surprised at how long the negotiations, expected to be completed early in the week, dragged on. "I thought we'd have it all done pretty quick," Sam Samardzija said. "That's what Mark (Rodgers) said. Mark felt that way and I'm sure the Cubs organization felt that way or they wouldn't have agreed to it earlier. "(MLB) felt there was something in there they just didn't like. I think it's the fact that it's Jeff Samardzija, he's pretty well-known and he's an All-American at Notre Dame and everyone knows who he is. His contract is going to be precedent-setting, so they just wanted to make sure everything was correct." Jeff left for Boise, Idaho, over the weekend to report to the Cubs short-season Class A team, the Boise Hawks. Sam Samardzija said ND football coach Charlie Weis has provided Jeff with a workout program so that he'll be in shape for a possible national championship run when he reports back to South Bend for the start of practice in early August. Jeff Samardzija could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.